MELANOMA - NOT a feel good story!

[jl1962]

Here is a picture of my neck after a plastic surgeon used an ice cream scooper to remove a melanoma.

This is a cautionary tale. My prognosis is excellent. We caught it early and it was very thin - about 1/60th of an inch. My odds of being here 5 years from now are between 95% and 100%.

Still - this was NOT a pleasant experience!

With the boating season upon us - PLEASE use sunblock and/or SPF clothing.

I am not especially fair-skinned (although I can be a bit thin skinned and thick headed ;) ).

Wishing you all SAFE BOATING and SAFE SUN!


70957

[Donziweasel]

Jay, I hope you lick it. I know I speak for everyone here in saying I hope you around for many many many more years to come. :)

[jl1962]

Thanks John, I fully intend to be.

Like I said - my prognosis is very good. I will see a dermatologist 3X/year and an oncologist 2X/year for the next few years and they will proactively biopsy anything unusual.

But this is not about me - WEAR SUNBLOCK!

:boat: :crossfing:

[Ghost]

Ditto John P's thoughts. Glad you caught it when you did and hope treatment continues to go well and that you beat this entirely. -Mike

[Ed Donnelly]

Now here is a subject close to my heart..

First time I met Ken Ciacci I had just had a piece of my nose removed.

Unless I tilt my nose up , you would never know..

I am going back in the hospital this Tuesday for the tip of my nose. I have the option where to get the graft if needed.. It will be either from my neck or my a$$... You guessed it the graft will be off my


.......................................Ed

P.S. Sun block is good

[gcarter]

My dermatologist and I have a long, frequent relationship.
So far, so good.

[jl1962]

Good luck Ed.

[penbroke]

Ouch! Glad to hear the positive prognosis Jay. Thanks for reminding all of us of what we ignore all too often.

Good luck Ed.


Frank

[BUIZILLA]

good rescue Jay....

my last excavation involved 30 stitches..

[yeller]

Glad to hear both of you are catching it in time!


Hey Ed, does that mean you'll permanently have your head up your ......

Sorry Ed. I couldn't resist. :biggrin:

[Ed Donnelly]

Yeller; Would it be rude to say Kiss my nose?? LOL...Ed

[jl1962]

Too funny!

Jim - 30 stitches? Did they use a backhoe? ;)

Seriously, while there is a genetic component (Bob Marley died from skin cancer, his dad was white), a lot of this damage is self inflicted. I have spent too many decades on the water. I like to think I've been careful for the last 10 years or so, but the damage is cumulative.

My dermatologist says I do not need to become a mole, but I should avoid direct sun light between 10 am and 4 pm, cover up and/or use sunblock when out and to take vitamin D supplements.

Good luck to all.

[mattyboy]

glad they caught it early Jay

[Morgan's Cloud]

Jay , good luck to you and thanks for what should be a timely reminder to many.

When I was a kid growing up in the 60's we all ran around almost naked all summer without a care in the world. Of course everyone now says 'the sun wasn't as strong back then' .. hmmm

I started going to the dermatologist yearly about a decade ago thanks to the new awareness in melonoma.

How was it that yours was discovered ? So many people don't know about this and just assume that they're developing another beauty spot. Then it's too late.

[Greg Guimond]

Wow................glad you caught it and I too am wondering how you found it.

[gcarter]

My personal answer is you go see the doctor two or more times a year.
It seems like they always find something to take off, i.e.: you can't go too often.

[jl1962]

My wonderful wife noticed something on the side of my neck that she was pretty sure wasn't always there. It was about half the size of my pinky fingernail.

They don't quite look like a mole or sun damaged skin - a little more irregular and blotchy.

Here's more info than you hopefully ever need: http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/types/melanoma

Best advice is to use common sense and go see a dermatologist to get a base line.

My course will be determined by what the dermatologist does or doesn't find in the next few years. And she'll be looking.

[Tony]

Good catch by your observant wife, Jay!

I've had three scalp scrapings in the last year or so, two of which were termed "squamous cell carcinoma". Genetic thin hair all my life, and a cumulative amount of sun on the top of my dome, was the supposition.

Four times a year for me and my dermatologist...

Use the sunscreen, as mentioned, but don't forget the hats!

[Morgan's Cloud]

A good pal of mine had one on the lower part of his back the year before last and it too was his wife who discovered it .

Don't know what she was doing back there :wink: but it was a good thing , because he'd have never seen it . It was treated seriously enough that they had to fly him out for treatment .

I don't think that previous to this he had ever been to a dermatologist either .

[Just Say N20]

Jay,

Thanks for posting this at the beginning of the season. We grew up thinking baby oil with iodine mixed in was perfect for tanning. Its that cumulative effect that is the problem.

My arm and chest. Chest had something like 17 stitches on the outside and 11 on the inside. I was lucky too. Now it is a hat and at least 45 SPF on all exposed skin.

[Ed Donnelly]

I was super lucky today. Not nearly as big as the last removal.

They are waiting for the left side to glaze then in for more..Ed

[CHACHI]

Ed, is your razor broken?

Ken

Looks a lot better than the last time.

[Ed Donnelly]

Ken you know I shave every day if the month has 32 days in it.

Otherwise it is the 1st and the 15th. give or take a week...........Ed

[jl1962]

Ed - Glad it went well.

Thanks to everyone for commenting and helping to personify this common yet largely preventable and mostly treatable disease. I started this thread w/ a nasty picture to get everyone talking. Not sure if I'm preaching to the choir or hopefully making an impact on someone who doesn't have skin cancer - yet!

FWIW - I have a colonoscopy coming up in a few months and I promise NOT to publish ANY pictures!!!!!!

Be well and have a safe season.

:cool!:

[Morgan's Cloud]

FWIW - I have a colonoscopy coming up in a few months and I promise NOT to publish ANY pictures!!!!!!


Is this your 1st one ? Now this could turn the thread completely upside down :tongue:

Actually , my specialist likes to show me pictures when I go back in for the follow up .. Like .. WTF is that ? ? haha

[CHACHI]

Jay, tell your Doctor you want Propofol.

Just not as much as MJ had.

The stuff is wonderful. No "hangover".

Ken

[Conquistador_del_mar]

Thanks for the reminder and advice. One of my best friends died from melanoma so it really hits home. He was tough as nails and played in the first Superbowl for the KC Chiefs, but melanoma was tougher than he could stand over the last year of his life even with everything the John Wayne Cancer Institute could do for him. Bill